Meeting of Fate
by VindictusUSA
Summary: AU Satan and Yuri fanfic inspired by the story Juniper's Knot. Enough said. I'm planning on making this a one-shot, but if this one-shot gets enough attention, I'll turn it into a story :) Rated T for language and some violence
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people! This is another Blue Exorcist fanfic that was inspired by this great story called Juniper's Knot. I read the whole thing and then at the end I thought "Huh, this would make a great Satan and Yuri fanfic." So that's what I'm going to do!**

**And just in case you guys get confused while reading this. Satan/Lucifer is not the King of Gehenna yet. This is sort of a different version of how Satan and Yuri met. . . It's a fanfiction. Enough said.**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own this plot or the characters.)**

**Also, I'm planning on making this a one shot fanfic, but if you guys can convince me I'll continue ;) That being said, this is a really long one-shot, read at your own patience.  
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**The Italics are the thoughts of specified characters. Since there are only two I'll list them before I continue to another person.**

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><p><strong><em>Satan<em>**

Much of these stone walls and floors have weathered into dirt and dust, revealing the foundation. Much of the ceiling, too, has crumbled to the ground, layering in flecks and bits. Below me now is such tired soil. Tired, tired soil.

"Pft . . ."

There isn't much to do here but burn dead leaves and wait. Watch the smoke rise-curl up fresh and tickle the inside of your nose. Dull as bones, this is. But what can I do? I'm stuck. Some might say cursed; I'd rather say bound. I don't like to think very much about it.

I kneel to the small fire I've started, taking up a few embers and loam into my palm. It's this glow that stirs me and reminds me that my heart is still beating. I bring the scorched earth close to my face, shut my eyes and breathe it in. I taste it and spit.

It's barren.

_I'm probably going to wait here forever._

"-What?"

There was an unnatural rustling not far off- out west? Then the rustling came closer.

_What is it? Who? Another person, here? _

My eyes sharpen and my ears perk up. I feel my heart thumping in my throat.

_Should I be forward? Give a call? Would that work? Cry out- plead. A fool sort of lie. Would that work? . . . __No, go still, listen- just listen._

. . . Whatever it is, it's doing something around here. The noise is tumbling rough from old doorways; chests whine open; shops and homes are explored . . .

_A scavenger, then . . . ? Someone found this place? . . .__ Hearing these sounds is just. . . odd. It shouldn't be "odd", but it is. Strange. I should remember such sounds.  
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I hear the sound of rustling again as it becomes louder.

_Oh? The noise is getting closer. . . is it? Am I imagining this?_

I hear metal clattering against the hard floor and smirk.

_No! Whoever it is, they are in the manor. Poking around the kitchen and lounge?_

I decide (on the chance that the person will find its way to the ballroom) to stand. I take a good posture and await this new company.

And to my surprise, the person- . . . she shows up at the door within the next minute.

_A girl? What's she doing here?_

I examine her figure.

_She's carrying a pack and has a bottle on her waist . . . Maybe she's a traveler, then? . . . __  
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I wait for her to turn her attention towards me.

_Doesn't look like she's noticed me yet. Just wandered in and seems lost._

She finally turns around and takes a few steps closer and I catch her attention. She moves a little closer to look me in the face, and then some more to see my feet. She stops there.

_She's staring now, not doing anything else. . ._

"Come here!" I encourage, putting on a non-hostile smile.

As if realizing something, she stiffens. Her heart beats loud in the air.

"I need your help, so come here girl!"

The girl doesn't listen and stays where she's at.

_What is she up to? . . . What does she think this is?_

I speak up again, this time with a little more aggression. "The fuck you waiting for?!" The girl jumps in surprise and I continue to be rude. "Oh, oh, did I scare you? Was I rude? Then you are cordially invited to move your dumb ass over here!"

_For the first conversational words I've spoken in centuries, they could've been worse._

She shakes with fear and stands back. Then out of surprise, finally speaks. ". . . A demon . . ?"

I sigh, "You're really slow aren't you? What does it matter? Why are you pissing your panties for? Get over here."

The girl raises her fist in front of her. "Aah . . . No way! You'll eat my soul!" She says sternly.

I stare at the girl in shock, "I'll what-?"

A smile cracks along my face and I start laughing. "AHAHAHAHA! HA! Your soul!"

_Oh my, when was the last time I laughed like this?_

I grin. I grin so brightly; watching and chuckling while she shrinks back a little. "Uh uh, girl. You're just perfect. Won't you listen to me for a moment?" I grin. "Before I eat your soul?! HAHAHAHA! Oh I crack myself up!"

At my laughter, she glares. Gathering up enough courage, she answers me. "You're not going to trick me, demon, you hear me?! I've read the stories. I'm not stupid."

I laugh again. "Am I that famous? Hahahahaha!"

"You know what I mean!" She says, irritated.

"Nope, I don't," I chuckle.

"Fiends! Devils! Demons! All of you! I know how it is." She says.

"Oh? And how is it?" I smirk.

"You're all foul, and you try to trick people!"

"Trick you?! Trick, tri- Hahahaha!"

_Oh, I really can't believe it . . . What happened in the years I've been trapped here?_

". . ." She glared at me.

"And what if I'm _not _trying to trick you, girl? What if I just want to talk, you know?"

She arches an eyebrow. "Just want to talk to me? What the heck."

"Exactly!" I say, showing interest in the girl. "I'd love to hear a story. You see, I've been here for a while and have been bored out of my mind."

She grimaces and steps back. "I think I'll just leave."

I grin maliciously. "You'd turn tail on a blood-thirsty demon?"

She scowls. "Look, I know something's wrong when I see it. You're not fooling anyone."

_Ahahahaaa. . . She's so precious._

"All right, all right, I'll tell you what: I'll tell you, I- like all us _demons_!- are just trying to win your delectable soul through my cunning wit." I smirk. "Honestly, I'm just a rookie at this. But please, at the least tell me a story."

"Why the heck do you want me to tell you a story so much?" She scoffs and shakes her head.

I turn away slightly and frown. "Because I am bored, and your voice- ah! Your voice is so . . ."

She scowls again. "Lies!"

I smile genuinely this time at her. "I really do want to listen. Would you be so kind to at least tell me a story?"

". . ."

I smile.

_Ah, she's genuinely considerate- such a delight! I do want to hear a story from her. . . In the meantime I'll check her out more closely. . ._

I begin to examine her features.

_Hmm . . . She's got a fair face, long brown hair . . ._

My eyes wander lower.

_Damn . . . A voluptuous figure too. Even the Succubus in Gehenna couldn't match that . . ._

Subtly, I sniff in her scent.

_Ooh! . . . I smell lavender and roses and . . . oil? . . .__ I wonder what she does . . . She smells pleasant nonetheless. Lavender and roses mingled with oil . . . What a peculiar girl.  
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She sighs. "I'd really better not stay."

". . ."

She closes her eyes and huffs. "I guess I can tell you one story though . . ." She glares at me. "As long as you stay where you are, got it?"

I smile. "What's keeping me from you is more powerful than I care to challenge, girl."

She sighs again. ". . . Yeah, right, whatever. Here's a story: one from a book I read a lot when I was little."

"Pft, I find it hard to think of you any more tinier than you are now hahaha!" It was a joke.

"Quiet!" She says, irritated. When I didn't say another word she continued. "There was a cobbler in Shibuya who had nothing to eat. He was poorer than dirt, and he didn't have a woman, and it made him real sad."

"He didn't have a wife?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Ah, continue."

She sighs. "While he was walking down an alley, he met this man. He had on a dark cloak with a hood that covered his eyes, and the cobbler couldn't tell what he looked like from under that cloak. He stopped, and asked the cloaked man if he'd like his shoes worked on. The-"

"That's dumb. Why would he do that?" I scoffed.

"'Cause he needed all the work he could get. He is poor and needs money after all." She arches an eyebrow at me and sighs. "Now I know what you're thinking: I've heard this one before and know how it goes." She glares at me. "Well you don't!"

_Huh?_

"Because the cobbler says . . . 'perhaps not'! And he walks away."

I roll my eyes.

_How exciting . . ._

She continues. "But here's the thing, while he's walking he notices the alley is longer than usual. He doesn't think about it though; he thinks he's just tired from work and keeps walking. But while he's walking he sees another man in a cloak. He stops and asks the man if he needs his shoes worked on, and the cloaked man says that he doesn't have any shoes. The cobbler stops and looks at him, and says he'd better get moving. The cloaked man says he could really use some new shoes. And while he's moving . . . You know."

I nod.

She continues. "He keeps running into this man in a cloak, and he can't find the end of the alley. Actually, every time it takes longer and longer until he sees the man in the cloak. On the eighth time he stops and asks, what's the game? And the cloaked man looks at him with yellow eyes. He says to the cobbler that he could really use some new shoes. For what? The cobbler says. I don't know, the cloaked man says. 'Perhaps anything'."

_Where the hell is this story going? . . ._

"What do you want?" She continues the story. "The cobbler knows exactly what he wants, demons have yellow eyes, and he knows a demon when he sees one."

I scoff.

_Really? . . . Yellow eyes?! That is so fucking dumb. My eyes are obviously not yellow. . ._

I said, "So, what you're telling me, if this story's anything good to listen to, is that I might have already trapped you."

"Well no . . . I don't think you did." She replies.

I arch an eyebrow at her. "Why not?"

She shrugs. "I don't think you did."

_Huh . . ._

I shake my head. "I have to say this, but your story telling is just weird."

"What?" She looks at me, puzzled.

"It is . . . Well it's very weird to me anyways."

"I guess . . ." She says.

I purposely lean forward in eagerness. "So how's your story end, girl?"

"The cobbler gets desperate and makes a pact with the demon to get new shoes by the next day. The demon will give him gold for him to do that. So the demon gives him the gold, but he doesn't make it. The demon traps the cobbler in the alley so he can't leave. His soul is taken and the cobbler is damned. The demon eats his soul and leaves the alley to become a farmer."

_What the hell? . . . _

"A farmer? . . ."

"Yeah, I know. Weird right?" She winks.

I laugh. "That's actually funny."

"I think it's suppose to mean something, but whatever. . . The point of this story is, don't get caught up with demons no matter what." She finishes.

I grin. "You're getting caught up with a demon right now."

She didn't even flinch, just arched an eyebrow. "Well . . . you don't feel right."

"I what?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing, never mind."

I look at her and try to figure her out. Figure out her opinions and her story.

_In the time she has told this story, she seems to have taken another idea of me. . . I'm not sure why that is, either._

I say, "I appreciate you telling me that story."

She scoffs. "Don't mention it, ever."

". . ."

_So opaque . . ._

"Are you still cautious of me?"

"Yeah, a little." She admits.

I frown. "Well-"

"Do you want me to tell you another story?" She asks suddenly.

The unsolicited offer catches me off guard.

_Is she really offering? . . . But no, if I'm too . . . eager . . . I can't ask for that._

"No." I say.

"If you say so," she says. "I'm gonna go now." She takes a step back.

"Go?"

"Yeah . . . I have to go, so . . . I'm going."

". . ."

_Shit, what should I do?_

She begins to turn around. "Wait! Stay! Stay! I won't take your soul- honest, I won't!" And then like the idiot I am, I move my hand out, reaching for her with singular wanting. I move past the second meter- past this Seal's edge with my fingers, and withdraw with a start as they disintegrate.

Dropping to my knees I growl in pain, blue flames igniting within the seal around me. I clutch my hand as it painfully begins to regenerate. I snarl with pain, shutting my eyes and angrily moaning. I hear the girl step a bit closer.

". . . You're stuck there?" She says with a concerned look.

Looking up at her from the ground, I clench my teeth.

_Oh, no, I know why I want her to stay now. . . To KILL her. . . Because as if it just wasn't so funny enough that vines creep down from the walls and grass is born through the stone so close just outside this fucking circle. . . Now there's a human, breathing before me. . . Funny. Everywhere but here: but near to me. To my desolating blood. These years have damned me; cut and clawed beneath my skin. Scars invisible, but nevertheless apparent. I FUCKING HATE IT! I FUCKING HATE IT SO MUCH! I FUCKING HATE the feeling it gives to my heart, and the strength it takes in. . . I FUCKING HATE IT!_

My flesh regenerates loudly as muscle envelops bone and tissue envelops muscle and I look away from her.

_Looking into her eyes PISSES ME OFF!_

"H-How long have you been there?" She asks.

I growl. "LONG ENOUGH TO FUCKING BEG! LONG ENOUGH YOU HEAR?! . . . Too long I've been in this fucking spot. . ." I scoff. "It doesn't matter to you anyways."

She gives me a calm look. "I want to know."

"Well I don't want to fucking tell you, got it?"

"Ugh. . . sorry, mister."

"'Mister'?" I take a look at my hand. It's almost done regenerating. "You're a bold one, huh? Calling me a bitch?"

"Uh. . . wha- huh? No, no you're- you're no- whatever, sir." She says, confused.

". . . It means something different now?"

"'Mister' is just what you're supposed to call guys that are older than you. Out of respect, jeez . . ."

I glance at her. "Is that right?"

She arches an eyebrow and subtly glances at my healed hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'm a _demon_ after all. We heal fast."

_Though I can still feel it snap and pop in the joints._

I whistle cool air through my fingers and stand up from the ground. ". . . Are you still going to stay?"

She was caught off guard by the question and looked away, her cheeks becoming rosy. "I. . . I could. . ."

". . . Thanks." I finally say.

She sighs. "To be honest. . . I'm actually lost right now. I can't find my way home."

"Huh?" I say before bursting out into laughter. "You're lost?! Hahahaha! Oh how ironic!"

"Wait, what?"

I sigh. "Don't looks so confused, girl. The irony is obvious."

She narrows her eyes.

"Think! After all, I can't even be lost. Forever and ever, I'll know where I am. And where I am is . . . stuck in this circle." I grin and laugh again, but she doesn't find it funny. She didn't even know what the hell to think about what I just said. I stop laughing, wiping away a tear that escaped my eye. "Yeah . . . I know this place so well, it'd embarrass you."

She jerks and shakes her head furiously, her cheeks reddening. "I swear i-if you. . .!"

I chuckle.

She takes a moment to calm down and clear her throat, her cheeks still rosy. "Ah, uh, if you know where this place is, do you know where Tokyo is from here?"

_Ah, so earnest . . ._

"Nope, never seen or heard of Tokyos." I say.

". . . 'Tokyos'?

"Yeah, Tokyos- Tokyos, you know?"

"Er. . . I don't know what those are. . ." She says.

"Wow, ain't this a lava pit we're dodging? Time is making fools of us both, hahahaha!" Her look is a bit hazy, as though she's having a hard time staying awake. I turn my head silently. "So what's 'Tokyo', girl?"

"Where I was born. . . where I live."

"A town? A new town?"

"City." She corrects me. "I think Tokyo has been around for a while."

"Is that so?. . ." She doesn't speak, and I glance over just quickly enough to catch her at the end of nodding where she was sitting. "Did you know? This place was a 'Tokyo' for a time." I say, trying to keep her awake.

"Mister, I don't know what. . . what are you talking about?"

"This is a dead place; a wet place. I, too, was born in a 'Tokyo'." There was a low rumbling coming from the girl. It was her stomach.

". . ."

". . ." Then she suddenly flinched.

I sigh. "Tch. Can't your stomach shut up? I was about to tell you a story!"

"I-I'm sorry!" She says, embarrassed.

I chuckle quietly to myself.

_She's cute when she gets flustered._

"You're hungry aren't you?"

"Obviously. . ." She rolls her eyes.

"Us demons, we only eat souls- and only for pleasure. Hahahaha!"

"Quit joking. . ." She says as her stomach rumbles again. "Do you have any food?"

". . . What the hell are you saying now? Does it look like I have food, girl? I don't have any food, dumb ass. . ." I hold my hands out to her palms up, just centimeters away from the border of the circle. "Here."

"What?" She looks at my hands, confused.

"Give me the chestnuts in your bag; I smell them."

She hesitates. "You're not taking my food. . ."

I sigh in irritation. "I hate chestnuts, just so you know. . . Now hand them over, I'll cook them for you." I sniff again, ignoring her intoxicating scent. "They're not long from the branch or the ground, smells like. . . you haven't cooked them? And you haven't eaten them yet. Do you prefer the taste of them cooked?" I ask.

She nods, slowly.

I twitch my fingers, waiting for her.

"Is there something you want for doing this?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.

I smirk. "Your company for the morning. Until noon."

"T-That's it?"

I nod.

A moment passed before she spoke again. "Okay . . . deal." Her words spoke like a knell. It resonates deeply, echoing, and shakes the ash from the walls.

Startled, the girl covers her mouth.

_Hehe, she said 'deal'._

I smile. "Here." I twitch my fingers again for the chestnuts.

She was still in shock. "D-Did I just . . . ?"

"Yep, you made a pact. . . with a _demon._" I smirk.

She was going to protest, but stopped herself. Shaking her head, she sighs. Without a word, she carefully takes off her bag and opens it up. Withdrawing a lot of nuts in two hands, she moves forward.

I look down at her, still waiting. And with steady movements, she brings her hands to mine. She holds my gaze, and I don't move at all. But I do think.

_Wait. . . Couldn't I just. . ._

He looked at how close the girl was to the edge of the circle.

_Just quickly. . ._

My hands tense, but it ends with a thought. She drops the heap into my palms and my fingers curl around it. Again, I smirk.

Seeing this, she jumps back.

"Give me a moment." I say. I take all but one into my left hand, holding the last nut between my right thumb and forefinger. Opening my mouth, I bring it between my fangs and puncture it. I bite through the shell, making a rough cut from one end to the other, and take it out. Observing the flesh of it, I spit out the shreds of the shell. Satisfied, I go on to carve the second, third, fourth, and so on. When I finished, I held the chestnuts away and blue flames encircle the nuts in my hand.

She gazes at the blue flames in amazement.

"This will take a while, girl. But not for long, might we talk some more?" I suggest.

"Uh. . . yeah sure."

"Then have a seat." They both sat down on the ground. "Now, where did we leave off before your stomach so rudely interrupted?" I smirk.

She sits, chin on her knees and eyes half-closed. ". . . 'Tokyo' something?"

"Ah, right. I'll tell you a story about Tokyos, in return for your story. Though rather than a story. . . a chat would be nice, right? Save story time for later." I smirk.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asks.

"Tokyo."

"Oh, right."

I sigh. "My 'Tokyo'. . . There isn't really much to say, come to think of it." I admit.

"You said you were born there?"

"Yeah, like all demons, I was born in sin. . . You've read about us, right? About how we make any place desolate just by standing there. Unconsciously draining life from earth for our sustenance."

"Mm. . ." She quietly nods.

"Just a fucking wasteland. All dry and lifeless. . ." I feel my face scrunching into a scowl.

"Sounds. . . cool?. . ." We both remain wordless for a while.

"It sounds hideous." I finally say. "I know because it is."

"Did you grow up there?" She asks, more awake.

"Tch. An interesting question. Yeah, I did. Had a mother and a father. Always got me wondering: 'Is this where I'll be when I get old? A bloody Tokyo?' Hahaha. . .

_Guess not._

"You left it then." She said.

I nod. "Yep, left it to go travel the world."

"What was it like, growing up there?"

I sigh. "Tedious. Maybe I shouldn't have brought this up, huh?"

"You just don't want to talk about it. That's alright, I understand." She says.

"No, it's not a matter of 'okay'. There's just not much of anything to talk about. It's all very. . . colorless, you know?" I sigh.

". . ." She looks at me curiously.

"So, what about yours?" I ask.

"My what?"

"Your 'Tokyo'."

"Oh. . ." She takes a moment to think about it. "It's not really anything special, just your typical city."

"'Typical' to me is not the same to you." I chuckle.

"Well, it's big. . . Loud. Streets are packed with people. . . Lots of smoke and brick. . . My mother and father run a floral shop near there, because they're crazy." She rolls her eyes.

"Oh! Is that where your scent is from?" I ask.

"M-My scent?"

"You smell like lavender and roses. It's very good." I grin.

". . ."

"You also smell like oil, but I'm not sure where from."

She sighs. "The city is pretty modern. I have to lift canisters of oil from place to place every Wednesday."

"Oh, you're a tough girl aren't you?!" I chuckle.

She looks away, blushing.

"Hahaha! Very tough!"

"Shut up!" She says with a reddened face. "I _have_ to do that dirty work. . ." She kind of slurs her sentence, but is nevertheless determined to appear less _manly. _

"I believe you." I say in a clear tone. "For your noble, _strong _efforts: I think it's time for your story." I smile genuinely. "You ready?"

She shrugs.

I clear my throat and loosen up my shoulders somewhat, poising my blue flames in my hand dramatically. ". . . Did you know that stars sometimes act as rain in the night sky?"

"You mean like a meteor shower?"

"Shut up."

She ignores that comment. "I've heard of it, but never seen it. I really want to though."

"Well. I've heard of it and know it because I've seen it." I create a floating image with my blue flames. "Imagine this: thousands. Thousands of lights; and they all bleed along the cold cerulean sky above. . . slowly, very slowly. You following? They are so very slow that as they make the long stretch out above you, you hardly notice their drag. It is really slow. . ."

She nods, very slowly. And nods in another way: drifting into memory.

"And flash!" I exclaim as I intensify my flames. The chestnuts in my hand wax: splitting and crackling. She jumps, the light catching in her eyes.

"Flash, hahahaha! Flash, hahahaha!" With each of these words, I stoke the flames. They lick up and dance wildly. I continue my story. "Each single, brilliant streak cuts through the lights, independent and free! And then!. . . . . . . . It dies."

The blue flames around me and in my hand begin to simmer down.

Her eyes glaze over.

"Like this. . ." The blue flames once surrounding me vanish, like a heart's last beating. "Death is quick to these stars." Straying my eyes from the light, I gaze upon the girl and notice a sad look on her face. "Is that depressing to you?"_  
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"Huh?" She's more awake and aware now as she thinks of an answer. "It is."

I smile. "There isn't a right answer, girl. You don't have to consider it like there is one. You think it's sad?"

"I do." She says

"Interesting." I end the fire, leaving the chestnuts to cool. I blow on them and breathe on them, ears twitching. "These are done now." I hold the nuts out to her. "My end of the bargain has been met. And you know what?" I smirk. "I'll do you a favor. I'll go ahead and roast the rest of your chestnuts with my fire, here." I motion to the dead leaves piled up on the floor near me. "I'll do this for free. No 'deals'. All that's left now is for you to stay."

Squinting, she waits a little, but soon enough crawls forward on her hands and knees, her bag in tow. She stops at the edge of the circle and takes the finished chestnuts from my hand. She looks at me, wearing an ugly expression.

"What?" I say.

Sitting on her rear, she keeps looking at me, but a bit less cautious. She seems to be wondering something. Eventually, she looks at the nuts in her hand. She shells one of them and brings in into her mouth. Her face flushes naturally. She chews a little, savoring the perfect taste. She pushes her bag into the circle with her foot, shifts back a few feet, and speaks.

"Which part of that was the story, Mister?" She asks.

"Well look at that." I smirk. "You aren't all that dumb after all."

She ignores the comment as I take up the bag from the ground, shaking it a little.

_Doesn't smell like there's anything more than chestnuts in here.__ . .  
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I open it up and check, sure enough finding the nuts in excess; some still green. I toss those nuts away. I still rummage through it, just in case there might be something interesting. But there's nothing of interest.

I say, "It was a preamble. There's a story to it, truthfully. I told you that I've seen this, right?"

Blinking, she nods, chewing on another chestnut.

With a hollow sound, I crack one of the chestnuts apart in my mouth. I grow the blue fire at my feet and drop it in there; no more flashy tricks. As I reiterate these actions, I speak to the girl.

"I was not alone with those stars, then. I was with another person. She was a little girl." Dropping another nut into the fire, I watch its fall. My eyes lose some of their color."She was fair, and human. I think probably only eleven years old. But nonetheless, innocent and perfect. Such a charming girl she was. We would dance together and sing and laugh." I sigh. ". . . I was fascinated with her, I think, and so when she had gotten depressed, I brought her from town and to those stars. I had the ache in my knees: knew the eventide would be crying, and had figured the beauty of the stars would calm her down."

The girl constricts her brow, chewing somewhat sadly.

I give her a brief assuring smile. "Oh, don't worry. It did calm her down."

She swallows.

My expression darkens. ". . . I've never understood the custom of humankind. I've always been an open-minded one, never bound to the thoughts of others. . . My actions that night- no, my actions altogether. . . No one liked it when she returned to the town."

"What happened?" The girl asks, afraid of what I might say.

"'What happened?'. . . After I took her back to town she was raped and beaten, raped and beaten, and raped and beaten. . . until she could not move or breathe. . ."

The girl stares wide-eyed in shock, a nut in her hands held stiff only so near to her parted lips.

I sigh. "I buried her under the sky where I last saw that smile of her's."

She closes her mouth into a concerned frown.

"A century later, I returned to her spot and found an olive tree grown there. . . It was the sickest thing. Gnarled and twisted, the tree was. . ." I snarled, startling the girl. "Infuriated, I destroyed the entire plant: its trunk, its bark, its branches and leaves; I burned its roots. . ."

_Would have torn out the roots, though refrained to not disturb her._

"Yet last I'd seen, it remained: alive, borne fruit, and uglier than before." I sigh.

". . ."

I grin. "Isn't that the most wonderful story?"

She scowls at me. "No! Not at all!"

I sigh, dropping the last of the chestnuts into the burning leaves.

"Didn't you retaliate against the people who hurt her?" She asked.

"'Retaliate'?"

"You're a demon!" She said, outraged. "You didn't eat them?!"

I look away. "I didn't eat them. What happened to them doesn't matter to the story."

"I want to know!" She demanded.

"Well I don't want to tell." I say, coldly.

"Ugh! Seriously, Mister?!. . ." She sighs before speaking again. "You know, when kids in my neighborhood mess with my little sister, I beat their faces in with a stick! That's what love is, it's taking care of your friends and family!" She says resolutely.

_Love?_

"That's what you got from this story? That I loved her?"

"Well obviously!"

". . ." I look away. "It's my story, girl, not yours. Now shut up. It's an old story and it's only a story. So shut up."

"Wha-?!. . . Urgh!" She throws the shell in her hand against the wall at her side, her expression sour. After taking a moment to calm down, she sighs. "Fine."

"I was just entertaining you as I cooked the nuts." I said.

"That's stupid."

"I don't want to hear that from your dumb ass."

"Well, it's stupid. . . It's stupid. . ." She sighs. "Forget it." She sits back down against the wall, chin on her knees and hugging her legs.

Infuriated, I snarl. "I'll tear your fucking tongue out, YA HEAR?! DON'T FUCKING START WITH ME, BITCH!"

The girl freezes, hand hovering over her last chestnut.

"I'll rip your legs off, understand? Don't fucking start with me. Last thing you need to be worrying about is your soul, since I'll rend you limbless if you start with me, and there won't be a fucking body to hold that soul of yours. . . Are we clear?!" I snarl and blue flames erupt around me.

She quickly nods.

After a moment, I laugh, my flames disappearing. "Hahahaha! Oh man, I crack myself up! Hahahaha! You really are a dumb ass!. . . But a cute one hehe. I can't move from this circle, girl. Remember?"

Quivering, she speaks up. "I-It- It's just that you sounded serious. . ."

I relax a little. "Did I?"

The girl lets out a loud sigh, shaking as it leaves her. Still vibrating with fear, she fumbles opening her last nut. There looks to still be bits of shell on the fruit, which she doesn't notice until it is in her mouth. She frowns bitterly and calms down somewhat, distracted by the bitter taste.

"Some of these are finished." I nod at the fire. "Can toss them to you, if you'd like; if you're still scared." I grin deviously.

"W-What? No I'm not!" She shakes her head, blushing. "I-I'm fine. . . But I'm pretty tired. Could you toss them to me anyway?"

I sigh. "Fine, I can. . . But only if you agree to stay with me until sunset."

She squints. "It's noon already?" She looks at the sky.

"It is." I sit down myself, lounging across from her.

She stares, her vision slowing and jumping and trying to focus in her exhausted state. Eventually, she squints, leveling her eyes on me. "Umm. . . didn't you say you'd do it for free?"

I smirk. "Not this, girl. I said I'd cook these for free, and I am."

She furrows her brow and frowns. ". . . Fine. I'll stay with you. . . It's a deal."

The ballroom rattles with the sound. She isn't surprised by it.

I smile again. "So is that what you are: tired?"

She opens her eyes halfway. "Y. . . Yeah."

I pick up a chestnut and throw it to her. She catches it somewhat dazedly.

"How long have you been gone from your Tokyo, girl?" I ask.

"I don't know. . . Two days?"

I throw her another nut. "Ooh, isn't that a long time?"

". . . No."

"It's a joke, laugh." I chuckle.

"I don't want to. . . If I laugh, it would basically be like me laughing at you. . ."

"Hahaha! Answering with a better joke instead of simply laughing! You're a lot funnier than you look! Hahahaha!"

She arches an eyebrow. "'A greater joke'?"

I send one more nut her way. "My existence."

". . ."

"My predicament and existence, together, are the greatest joke in all of history! I know this and I've missed half of it! Hahahaha!"

"Stop laughing. . . It's not funny."

I smirk. "Such a soft girl." I tilt my head and regard her. "I keep leafing through my thoughts for the memory of another girl like you, but I'm not finding anything. . . And I have a lot of memories, you know? Comes with being Immortal. So many travels, delights, regrets. . . A girl shouldn't be so soft: the world is so rough that it will shape her ugly."

Languidly breathing, the girl eases into her arms a little more. Her eyes beginning to shut.

"Or it was. It was a rough place. If you don't know Tokyos, maybe this world is also soft now. It would explain you acting soft."

She blinks.

"Where I was raised- in my 'Tokyo'- it was a very rough place. 'Survival of the fittest' and all that. . . Do you know why I had laughed earlier? When you mentioned souls? Do you know why I joke about souls?"

She blinks.

"So many of us demons are so obsessive over souls- it's just extraordinary souls, not unremarkable ones like the way your soul feels. Have to look for those mature, spirited humans: their souls heavy with character and experience. . ."

She closes her eyes and falls asleep.

I continue anyways. "A newborn's soul, for example, won't do anything for you. It is special though. A newborn's soul is quite pure, really. . . exquisite. . ."

I look at the girl and throw a chestnut at her hair. It bounces off and to the ground. She doesn't even flinch. I look into the blue fire, gazing at it.

_The fire. . ._

I feel my face contort into a scowl.

_These FUCKING STUPID THINGS inside it!_

For a flash of a moment, I consider burning them to ash, but doing so would break my pact.

". . ."

_No, it wouldn't. . . But I still won't._

I turn to the girl slumbering against the wall.

_I would rather burn this. . . this 'girl'. . . FUCK ME! I should've grabbed her while she was at the fucking edge of the circle!. . . Would it have been so simple though?. . . Or do I need her agreement to exchange her life for mine from the Seal? Am I forgetting the conditions?_

"Fuck!. . ."

_This girl be damned for rekindling my hopes!_

Pressing my hands into my face- angry, roughly- I glare at her through parted fingers. I exhale deeply.

_If I could just lunge out from here and take her. . . I'd do it, I FUCKING WOULD!_

I growl. My body still feels the sensation of when I last forced myself through the barrier. The sensation of my leg and arm disintegrating all the way down to the cellular level. . .

_AND I STILL FUCKING WOULD! I'D STILL LUNGE OUT FROM HERE!__. . . I'd fucking do it thrice to get out of this fucking circle. . . WHY DIDN'T I GRAB HER BEFORE?! SHE WAS AT THE FUCKING EDGE! WHY DIDN'T YOU FUCKING PULL HER IN DAMN IT?!  
><em>

I sighed in frustration.

_I've forgotten so much!. . . Is this what it was like?. . . Having passions?. . . I want to die. I wanted to leave, but not anymore. If this is passion. . . "Passion"?. . . I want to die. . ._

I grunt in frustration and my blue flames begin to surround me like a coat.

_I'd bite my fucking tongue again, burst blood from it and drown myself! Nails in my wrists, tearing and digging and tugging! Pulling out my fucking throat. . . AGAIN!. . . To get the fuck out of this situation. . ._

I whine in silence.

_Every day- eh, what's a fucking day? Two days, she said; what are days, huh? What are months? Years? I've been here for centuries- centuries? CENTURIES?!. . . Was it longer?. . ._

I sigh. The quiet settles in, and the wind dashes the leaves. Scraping leaves, scraping leaves, scrape, snarl, raindrops falling again, again, again- embers in my hand; smoke. Sometimes I scream just to hear a voice again. . .

_. . . What happened to my life?. . ._

My jaw is quaking, my eyes are warm.

_I wish you hadn't come here. . ._

Taking my hands from my face, I look at this peaceful, peaceful-

S_he's so peaceful isn't she? Peaceful little bitch!. . .  
><em>

"Wake up!" I snarl and throw another chestnut at her, missing. "WAKE UP!" Another and another. . . "See me, bitch? See this body?! It doesn't grant the fucking peace of sleep!" I take up a handful of nuts and toss them. "I haven't slept a minute. . . I haven't slept a fucking second! I've always been awake, YOU LUCKY BITCH!" I growl. "Two days?! You miserable bitch! Had I only been here two days, I'd burn the fucking exorcist that did this to me!. . . Damn you, you hear?! When you're dead, I'll find. . . and spit on YOUR FUCKING GRAVE! I-I'll plant a fucking olive tree there, you fucking bitch!"

I throw, and throw, and throw, missing, missing, missing. . .

"I fucking hate you. . . I ha. . . FUCK!. . ."

_Am I sobbing now?. . . A demon sobbing. . ._

I drop my arms to the ground, crying in shakes.

_I don't think I've ever cried in my entire life. . ._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Yuri<em>**

"Mm. . ." I feel dizzy.

_I'm always feeling dizzy when I'm waking up. . .__ My mouth is dry, too. It's awful. . .  
><em>

I smack my lips and rub my eyes, still tired.

_Er. . . Why was I tired?. . . Oh yeah, I got lost. . . I told father that I didn't need that horse. . . he's so dumb- it would've been better just walking alone. . . The horse got spooked by a dang partridge, seriously? He must have bolted about a half a mile before bucking me off._

I open my eyes and it looks like fog. I rub them again and notice that man from before sitting in front of me.

_I-Is he asleep?_

"Mister, are you asleep?" I ask.

"No." He says immediately.

_Oh, I just figured since his eyes were closed and all. . ._

"I can't sleep." He said, grudgingly.

I look at him weird, and flinch. Something rolled out of my hair. . . It drops on the ground. Looks like a shell.

_Oh, it's one of those chestnuts. Why are these in my hair?_

I ruffle up my hair, finding two more nuts.

_Whoa! Did he throw these at me?_

I look at him and arch an eyebrow. His cheeks are wet, his nose is red, and his long pointed ears are low like a sad puppy. He looked like my little sister Hana after falling off a curb. ". . ."

_I can't think of what to say. Maybe I'll just tell him what I always say. . ._

"Did you do something bad? Tell me the truth." I usually say that to the little ones who lie to me about stealing and such.

He scowled and snarled lightly. "Fuck off."

_Yikes. . . He's in that angry mood again._

"Um. . . if you got mad because I-"

"What the fuck did I just say." He said that like it was a fact instead of a question and I freeze. "Fuck. Off." He says.

_What did I do? I thought I was being nice!_

"You want me to leave?"

He keeps staring at the floor.

_I'm a little scared now. . . What time is it?_

It didn't look like sunset. It's not even sundown yet. " I don't think I can-"

"Leave."

"B-But the deal-"

"Leave."

"If I break the pact-"

"Leave."

". . ."

_What am I supposed to do? I don't want to leave! If I break the pact with a demon, I'm going to Gehenna!. . . Or is it worse? Oh god, if it's worse. . . I can't just walk out!. . . Maybe if he. . ._

". . .You're kidding me."

_Whoops. . . Didn't mean to say that. Good it was quiet._

My eyes are shaking, looking at his leaf pile. There aren't any chestnuts in it.

_The deal was he had to toss chestnuts to me, and he did that, sort of. . . I'm out of luck here. . ._

"I can't leave, sir!"

He looks at me. "It's 'sir' now?

I sigh. "Sorry, god!"

"Leave. I want you to leave. . . Walk out of here, go and be damned, girl."

I just look at him. I'm biting my teeth together and my heart's going wild.

He snarls. "Burn in Gehenna, bitch. It's where you belong with all the other fucking humans like you."

"Calm the heck down!" I yell.

He picks up his head from his arms and glares at me.

"J-Just calm down, alright? Calm down. . ."

He snarls lightly. "You really are an idiot."

"W-Well you're crazy! Why the heck are you mad at me?! Why did you even talk to me, sir?! What do you want?! You're lonely right?! That's it, right?!"

He starts standing up.

_Well, I'm not going to let him look that far down on me: I'm standing up too! I'll even step up to him; I'm not letting him get the better of me!_

"I don't have a problem fighting you, sir. I'll beat you with a stick! You just swore against my family, and I'm not going to stand for that, alright?!"

Of course, I'm quaking in my boots while I say this.

He snarls and glares. "No. I swore against your kind."

I gulp and frown.

"Your entire. Miserable. Sin-hearted. FUCKING RACE!" He growls at me and I leap back, startled. "Do you know what I would do if I got out of this circle?!" He steps forward and I step back. "Yes or no." He says.

"No. . ."

He leans forward, just before what I'd guess is the barrier. I can feel his breath on my face. It's cold and warm. . . "Kill. The Whole. Fucking Race. . . Kill the men, Kill the women, kill the fucking babies! Boys, girls- LIKE YOU! To girls like you, I'll dive my fucking hands into their guts, wrench out their innards string by string, and FUCKING SET THEM ON FIRE!" He snarled furiously.

"I-I. . ." I'm crying. "I-I'm sorry, okay?! I don't know what happened to you!" I cry out.

He leans back, standing up straight, and breathes out. His blue flames coming out of his mouth, airy. "Are you scared?"

I nod, fast.

"Why?"

"I. . . I-I don't-"

He growls. "I can't FUCKING TOUCH YOU! SEE?!"

All of a sudden he pushes his hand toward my face. My eyes widen. My whole body locks up.

_What am I seeing?!_

"I'm FUCKING TRAPPED HERE!" He growls.

His skin's disintegrating off in a white glow. I can see his muscles, disappearing, turning inside out. The white glow is all over his hand.

_I can see his bones. . . I can't watch. . ._

"WATCH!" He snarls angrily.

I turn back from turning away. "Your. . . your skin is evaporating . . ."

He grimaces and tears fill up at the sides of his eyes. One drops, rolling down his cheek, and his hand shoots back to him like it's spring-loaded. "I can't leave. . . understand? Do you understand, dumb ass?. . ." He holds up his arm, a hand missing at the end of his wrist. "This, right here. This is what I've known for far too long. . ." He says. His hand starts coming back together, the disintegrated parts splitting and the bones getting covered back up by muscle. There's this popping noise with everything.

I turn green and quickly run to the corner and let out the contents of my stomach.

"I can't kill your people. I FUCKING WANT to but I won't be able to leave this fucking circle, do you get it?"

I wipe my mouth and return to him. "Wh- . . . Why are you trapped there?" I ask.

He shuts his eyes, grimacing as his hand continues to regenerate. "Would you believe me if I said it was a punishment? If I said it was an accident? An unjust imprisonment? Whatever I say, whatever you believe, it doesn't matter. I was trapped here before the world even had a concept of your 'Tokyo'. I was trapped here long, long, long ago. . . For reasons that are no longer relevant. . ."

"I. . . I. . . I don't think you're being honest with me." I say.

"Why's that?" He asks.

"I told you before you need to calm down. . ." I swallow, holding my fists tight. "How do I get you out of there?"

". . ." He looks at me like I've gone crazy. I think so too.

He shakes his head. "You've lost it. . ."

I shake my head. "No, I still have my sanity. I know what I just asked you. Tell me how to get you out of there."

"If you haven't lost it, you never had it in the first place. . . I suspected as much. You're touched, aren't you?"

"Look, I don't know what you're saying, but I'm still thinking normally."

"And losing your sanity." He retorts, scoffing.

"Shut up already!" I yell.

He snarls. "Shut up and listen, you fucking rude little pest."

I immediately stop talking.

"Do you even know what you're saying?! Remember what you're talking to." He scowls.

"I-I just think that-"

"I didn't just 'retaliate'."

"Huh?"

_That was random._

"I didn't just retaliate against the men who raped her. I bore my nails hot into their eyes and tore off their fucking faces." He said, his expression darkening.

"Whoa. . ."

He glares at me. "And that's not all that I did. . . When I first saw her lying there, body warm only from the bodies of others, and eyes with no spark in them, I set the house where she died on fire. I went to all who lived in her town and fucking burned them to death. I torched their homes and pulled their ribs from their chest." He snarls. "I crushed their heads. Snapped their bones like twigs. Stripped off their flesh. If it could torture them, I fucking did it. . . And in case you're wondering, you're all the same to me. I killed all kinds of you people- Sex. Age. It didn't mean shit to me when I killed them." He said.

_Whoa. . ._

He continued. "Soon they gathered at the center of the town, where I'd first caught sight of the girl, as if to mock me; so I melted them all to the Earth. . . Agonizingly slowly. On the night that she died, I erased that town from records."

All my fighting spirit vanished. "Why'd you tell me that?" I asked.

"You asked." He looked away.

"I didn't wan- You didn't have to tell me all the. . . the whole story!"

He softened, his ears lowering like that sad puppy look again. "You're right, I didn't. But didn't you 'want to' know?"

"What the heck is wrong with you?!"

"I'm a demon."

"For the love of- no! Is that why you got put here?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Whoa. . ."

He sighs. "I've done many things in my life: things some find admirable, and some others find horrendous. I've put a curse on a family for all their generations; saved a gaggle of slaves from the tyranny of their fellow humans. I've ruined a marriage and restored another; slaughtered a town and rescued a child. I've done . . . so many things. . . And all of those I've mentioned, not one of them is the fucking reason I'm here."

"Did you forget?"

"Oh, no. I remember it as clear as day. But as I said, the reason is no longer relevant."

_This doesn't make sense. . ._

"You wanted me to save you, right?" I said. "I swore that's what you wanted."

". . ."

"But now you're telling me all these mixed-up things, and what the heck am I supposed to think?! What do you want?"

He bares his fangs at me. "For you to fucking leave."

I exhale through my nose and close my eyes.

_No, there's no way I'm leaving him there. _

I shake my head again. "You're lying to me. I don't think like you, sure, but I know when someone is lying to me. Why the heck are you lying to me? I know you don't want me to leave. What happened to you?" I look at his eyes. ". . . How long have you been there?"

". . . I don't know. I don't fucking know anymore."

". . . You don't know?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

_What the heck is up with that? That can't be right. All demons got this thing for knowing the hour exactly- the second: it's famous, so. . . what the heck does it mean if they lose it?. . . Hold on. . .__  
><em>

"Hey. . . How much did you love that girl?"

He was caught off guard by the question. "I. . ."

I hear something click in his throat. He doesn't look like he wants to say.

"Shut up." He says.

_I. . . I feel bad for him. This is so weird, but it's like. . . he's so sad. Everything about this man is sad, I mean it. He's just damn. . . miserable- and pathetic; he's so. . .  
><em>

"You really don't know how long you've been there?"

"Yes."

I sigh. "I think you've been in there for long enough. I don't think you really want to kill anyone."

"Then you're a dumb ass."

"Shut up. I've had enough of that." I stare into his blue eyes. "Tell me how to save you."

". . ."

I reach out to his hand and grab it-the hand that got messed up, and has healed now-I hold onto it. "Come on."

He stares at me. Looks at my hand, holds it with both of his and squeezes. He locks his eyes with me. ". . . I need to be switched with another life. That's the only way for me to leave."

I put on my bravest look. "I'm not going to switch with you- listen." I keep him from saying anything else. "I'm gonna find another way alright?"

"What could you possibly do?" He scoffs.

"I'll plant something in your place. . ."

He shakes his head at my stupidity. "Nothing can grow here. . . I'm a demon, yes?"

_That. . . Crap, he's right. . . How am I going to. . ._

I shake my head. "It doesn't matter. The land is going to be fine once you're out, right? At least that's what I think. . . what I've read. . . . . Look, you've just got to believe in me." I look up and finally notice that the sun is gone. "You don't want me to leave anymore, I can feel that." He's really holding onto my hand tightly. "But believe in me. Let me go and I'll save you." He looks at our hands again and cuts into mine with his nail.

"Ow!" I wince.

". . ."

_No. . . Come on. . . don't do this, please. . ._

I look at his face; he's still staring at my hand. "Let me go." I beg.

". . ."

_Please. . . He wouldn't, right?. . . Don't. . . Don't pull me in, please. . . Stop. . ._

I'm trying to calm my heart. I'm trying not to lose my mind. But it's hard when he's bringing my arm a little bit closer, and a little bit more, tightening his grip. I drop to my knees as his grip tightens.

_Come on. . . Please. . . believe in me! TRUST ME!_

He digs his nails into me again.

_Ow! Ow! Please, please. . . let me go, please. . . Let me go!_

"Let me go. . ." I whisper that, not thinking about it. My eyes are shut, I'm scared.

_I don't want to be trapped in there!_

". . ."

I can feel him looking at me, and I begin to pant. I'm trying to be calm. . . I can feel my lips moving, pleading. . .

And after a while, real slow. . . He does it.

I open my eyes, shocked. He had let go of my hand, and is holding his up now where mine was. As he's about to drop it, I toughen up and grab it again.

We make eye contact. "Believe in me, okay?" He doesn't say anything.

I let go of his hand and pick up my satchel from inside his space.

We hold a look.

". . ."

"I beg you. . . Don't betray me." He finally says. "Please. . ."

I stare at him in shock. "I promise, I won't betray you. . ." The walls didn't shake, my voice didn't boom.

I take a step back, and another one. And I run out of there.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yuri<strong>_

It's cold, now. I'm actually shivering.

The moon is high, the grass is glowing. It's dark, but beautiful.

_It's quiet, like before: like always, right?__ It's just wind and dead leaves. Even animals don't walk through this place. I wonder how long it's been since people existed. At least this is probably the first time someone's walked through here with a sapling in their hand.  
><em>

I step into the big room and look out ahead; rub my thumb over a branch of the tree sapling I'm carrying. I can see him there on the floor, his hands over his face.

I know he can hear me, since whenever I move even a little his ears flick.

I walk forward.

Wiping his nose with the back of his hand, he stands up and exhales. He opens his blue eyes and I'm kind of surprised when I see them glowing.

I stop at the edge of the barrier and he looks at me.

"You look like a mess. . ." He says.

"Yeah, well. . ." My stomach growls and I sniff. "It's pretty hard to dig out a tree properly with no real tools." I show him the sapling. "Especially one like this."

We both stare at the tree in my hands.

". . . Isn't that? . . ." He eyes me critically.

"Yeah. . . an olive sapling." I said.

". . ." I can hear a low growl ready to escape his throat.

"I didn't pick this to make fun of you, jeez. . . Olive trees are strong. If there is anything that's going to take root in the dirt like this, it's an olive tree."

". . . Right."

"Step back, I'm coming in. . ." He does that after a second or two, and I walk into the Seal. Bending down, I hold the olive up to him. "Take it." He does that too, after thinking about it.

I take a sharp rock out of my pocket that I picked up outside and stab into the ground with it, cracking the floor. It sticks pretty good in there, but I can still yank it out. I do that, and keep breaking up the earth. I can feel the man staring at me, and I know what he's thinking. Even if I am young, I can still see this soil is pretty bad. My eyes are as good as my mother's at least. And this man definitely knows as good as me how it is for growing. If anything grows it will be with awful chances.

Seriously, an olive's about the only thing around that might be able to live. Making matters worse, I don't have very long before the sapling is as good as dead. The roots are good and all, but it's not. . . And honestly, I don't know the difference from a good sapling to a bad one. I just went with my intuition.

So knowing most of that. . . he's probably thinking of just walking out.

_That's what's got to happen, right? Two living things get in, only one gets out. . . But I'm not going to check on him and see if he leaves. . . It's not that I don't trust him. I can't trust him, but. . . All I can think of is getting him out of this Seal without leaving me in. . . If I look at him, if I show him that I'm worried. . . That would mess everything up._

So I kept at it. Kept breaking up the soil with the rock.

I stab and I pull and I dig, clearing out stones and dirt. I pile all the dirt up next to me. After a lot of effort, I lean back and look to see that the man is still there.

I hold up my hand.

He gives me the olive.

I take it and open up my bag: filled with wet, healthy soil I gathered while I was gone. I carefully transplant the sapling, putting some good soil over its roots and filling the hole back up with a proper mix of my collected soil and the dirt from the foundation.

_Careful, now. . . careful with the roots. . ._

I finish planting the olive sapling.

_Okay. . . this should be good._

I take my canteen from the clip at my waist and open it up.

_This is filled with spring water. Took a while to find that. . . Honestly, it took me a while to do everything. I kind of feel bad about it. but I moved as fast as I could.__ There should be enough here for a healthy "first" watering, it won't drown.  
><em>

I pour the water inside the canteen over the leaves and plot, screwing it closed when I'm done and putting it back on my waist.

_That's it. . ._

"That's it." I say.

He looks at me, puzzled. "That's all?"

I stand up, wiping away sweat from my brows and forehead with the sleeve of my blouse. "Yeah. . ."

We both look outside the circle for a while. I give him a look from my side.

_He's still looking out. . . Breathe. . . . . . . Okay._

I step forward and he doesn't move. I leave the circle and turn around and we both stare at the olive tree.

_. . . Did it work?_

". . ." I open my mouth to ask, but close it again when I see him. He's afraid. He's at the edge of the Seal and scared.

_Oh crap . . . I just realized. If just touching it before hurt him so much, how did it feel when he pushed his whole hand through? . . . He had a stone face when he did it, but. . . god. I can't say anything to that. . . I don't know what it feels like. _

Seeing him like that, shaking with fear and panicking just thinking about moving ahead. . . I can feel my eyes welling up. I just try not to cry, for him.

He loosens up his shoulders and lets his hands ball into fists at his sides. With his eyes closed, he jerks forward!

"W-Wait!" I cry out.

His foot passes over "the line".

My hand is up in the air. . . I wanted to stop him. I didn't want to see that pain anymore. . .

He jerks his other foot forward, completely leaving the spot.

". . . It. . . worked?" I say, shocked.

Again and again. . . he walks to me. He lowers himself, and. . . just embraces me. . . Instinctively, I wrap my arms around him. His skin warms up all over, and he nuzzles his face affectionately into my neck, rubs his nose over my cheek. He just eases into me, weak.

I bring up one of my hands, hesitantly, and pat him on his head, surprised at how silky smooth his long silver hair is. . . I'm crying myself. "It's okay now. . ." I choke. "It's okay, right?. . ."

He just rests on me, taking away any of the rippling cold in my body with his warm flames.

He breathes out past my ear. "Thank you. . ." He whispers and hugs me a little closer. "I'm sorry. . ."

I shake my head, trying not to break into a fit of crying.

"Can I just stay like this? For a little bit. . . You're familiar. . . You're strong." He says.

"Y-Yeah! Yeah, you can. . ." I say, feeling my cheeks warm.

He holds me tightly and we don't say anything else.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Satan<strong>_

"You're a surprisingly emotional girl. Are all girls like that now?" I ask.

"I-It just really hurt looking at you, that's all." She says, wiping away a tear.

"Right, right. . ." I'm sure that it did. I was quite emotional myself.

_If Mother saw me like that, haha. . . I wonder if Mother is still alive._

"When did I last see this place from here?. . ." I say, reveling in the realization that I'm free and looking at the town that was once my 'Tokyo'. "Has it really been forgotten?" I ask, looking around at the ruined town.

"Yeah, I've never heard of it." She says.

"That's a good thing. . . this place was good."

"What was it like?"

"Normal. So normal, in fact, that I had to grow my hair out to hide my ears just to get around. . ."

"Really?"

"It didn't bother anyone before. But it eventually did so I had to grow my hair out."

"Huh. . ."

"As I was saying, this town. . . I might have liked it once. Though when I first came here, I never would've expected to stay."

". . ." She eyed me curiously.

"Oh right, you're lost aren't you? You have any idea how to get back to your home?"

"Uh, obviously not." She scoffed.

"Don't be a smart ass." I laughed. "I'll help you get there.

". . . Really?"

"I can't assure you when we will find it, but I'll assure that we will find it, I promise." I say. "I'll take you there, I may as well."

"You're not gonna go travel?" She asks.

I chuckle. "This should be enough of a journey after standing for so long. . ."

_It beats seeing Father again in Gehenna. . . Screw being King of Fucking Gehenna. . ._

"We'll camp by the eastward spring for tonight, you know of the one east? Is it still there?" I ask.

"Yeah. At least it's probably the same one I'm thinking of." She says.

"Can you fish at all?"

She arches an eyebrow. "Not without a rod, no."

"Then I'll fish for you, but you'll have to cook the fish I catch." I smirk. "Can't do everything for you."

"Mm. . . What time is it?. . ."

"Obviously night time. . ." I say, chuckling.

"Mm. . ."

"Since I leaned on you earlier, you can lay on me while you sleep. . . I'll keep you warm." I wink.

She glances at me briefly, and looks pensive, her face reddening. She shuts her eyes. ". . . Fine. I'll do that." She says.

We lock eye contact for a long time. "Thank you. . ." She says.

I smirk. "I'm glad you stayed. . . I'm glad you were a dumb ass." I laugh.

"Hmph." She looks away, indignantly.

"Really, I am. I can't thank you enough." I say, smiling genuinely.

". . . You're welcome. ." She says, looking away to hide her blush.

"Don't consort with any demons other than me." I wink.

"Mk. . ."

_I honestly feel like this isn't real. . . But I know that it is._

"Let's go then." I said.

_My mind has become so lucid since I've been freed. Bright. So bright that it nearly blinds me, but I can tell. . . Yeah, I'm happy._

"Hey," she says. "I never got your name."

I laugh. "I don't think we've actually introduced ourselves hahaha!"

She giggles. "We're such idiots."

"Lucifer, but others call me Satan."

"Yuri~" She smiles, causing me to blush.

* * *

><p><strong>So what did all of you think of this? You're still here right? Sorry it was really long.<br>**

**If you really liked this "one-shot" I might turn it into an actual story~ **

**But all credits for this inspired fanfiction go to the creators of _Juniper's Knot. _**

**Thanks for reading! If you liked this, leave a review, hit that favorite/like button. And if you want, I'll think about making this into an actual story ;)**


	2. Update

**So I actually decided to continue this in a different story. I figured that this should be left alone while I continue it in another. It's called ****_An Unjust Life. _**** Thanks for reading this one shot and I hope you all like ****_An Unjust Life _****too. :)**


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